JAMIE CULLUM – THE PURSUIT: This is the fifth studio album from jazz singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum and features a blend of upbeat pop tunes, romantic ballads and sparkling piano. The Pursuit is a musical journey through Cullum’s personal life with the over-riding themes on songs like I’m All Over It, You and Me are Gone and Music is Through, based on break-ups and relationships. There are also some notable covers, kicking off with Cole Porter’s Just One of Those Things, plus Rihanna’s Don’t Stop the Music and If I Ruled the World, a song often associated with Sir Harry Secombe and which has been performed by James Brown and Stevie Wonder. A great return to form. 8/10

STEREOPHONICS – KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON: The Welsh band’s seventh studio album does what the ‘Phonics do best .

STEREOPHONICS – KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON: The Welsh band’s seventh studio album does what the ‘Phonics do best . . . capture the zeitgeist. This has been a year of recession, depression, wartime frugality and nostalgia. Keep Calm and Carry On, itself a message from a Second World War poster, is writer and singer Kelly Jones’s response to the current times in his usual poetic lyrics and gravelly vocals. Trouble starts with “Can you feel it? There’s no money in this town”. From the retro rock beat of the opener She’s Alright and Uppercut and Beerbottle – where the band experiment with a more electro sound – to upbeat love songs, like Could You Be the One, the album is a melodic mix of the good old with a new twist. 8/10

VARIOUS ARTISTS – NME: THE ALBUM 2009: As the frenzy of publicity surrounding the appointment of its first female editor Krissi Murrison recently showed, the NME remains one of the few successful music magazines in the face of the internet’s relentless march across pop culture. That’s what makes this eclectic two-disc compilation so significant, and the choice reflects the magazine’s vibrant, wide-ranging appraisal of contemporary indie-rock. The end result is a reminder that the likes of Muse, Green Day and The Prodigy – all now huge stadium acts – started relatively small, while sonic gems from Enter Shikari, Biffy Clyro and Bombay Bicycle Club provide rousing and boisterous hope for the future. 8/10

WILL YOUNG – THE HITS: When he was crowned the winner of the first series of Pop Idol, how many people would have thought Will Young would still be going strong after all this time? Seven years and four hit albums later – along with television, film and theatre acting roles alongside the likes of Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins – he’s releasing this Best Of collection, gathering all of his biggest songs in one place just in time for Christmas. There are a few iffy moments, including his track Evergreen, but the presence of modern pop classic Leave Right Now, gorgeous ballad All Time Love and upbeat stomper Switch It On means there’s something for everyone in this classy package. 7/10

ALESHA DIXON – TO LOVE AGAIN: Not a patch on The Boy Does Nothing, but this ballad will add to her fanbase and it highlights her ability as a singer.

RIHANNA – RUSSIAN ROULETTE: She’s had a tough time of late, and R&B queen Rihanna looks to put her troubles behind her with this ballad, and a new album on the horizon.